Monthly Archives: January 2019

If you didn’t see them elsewhere, the Writers Guild Awards finalists were announced a week ago. As usual the first round of balloting closed before I was able to see all the front-runners, let alone all the screeners. Final voting closes January 31, so I have some time to catch up.

Of the films I have seen this winter, I can firmly recommend BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY, FIRST MAN, ON THE BASIS OF SEX and BLACKKKLANSMAN.

The nominees in the categories I vote in (forgive me for leaving the credits intact, but these are writers’ awards) are below. Feel free to comment on any of these without concern for spoilers.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Eighth Grade
Written by Bo Burnham
Green Book
Written by Nick Vallelonga & Brian Currie & Peter Farrelly
A Quiet Place
Screenplay by Bryan Woods & Scott Beck and John Krasinski, Story by Bryan Woods & Scott Beck
Roma
Written by Alfonso Cuarón
Vice
Written by Adam McKay

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY (Vote for only one (1) Adapted Screenplay)
Blackkklansman
Written by Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee, Based on the book by Ron Stallworth
Black Panther
Written by Ryan Coogler & Joe Robert Cole, Based on the Marvel Comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Screenplay by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty, Based on the book by Lee Israel
If Beale Street Could Talk
Screenplay by Barry Jenkins, Based on the novel by James Baldwin
A Star is Born
Screenplay by Eric Roth and Bradley Cooper & Will Fetters, Based on the 1954 screenplay by Moss Hart and the 1976 screenplay by John Gregory Dunne & Joan Didion and Frank Pierson, Based on a story by William Wellman and Robert Carson

DRAMA SERIES
The Americans
Better Call Saul
The Crown
The Handmaid’s Tale
Succession

COMEDY SERIES
Atlanta
Barry
GLOW
The Good Place
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

NEW SERIES
Barry
The Haunting of Hill House
Homecoming
Pose
Succession

I still have in my files a Worldcon (pre)registration list from July 1990. I don’t know if this is from the 48th (The Hague), which I didn’t attend, or the 49th (Chicago), which I did.

In any event, it’s a snapshot of the core Worldcon fandom almost 30 years ago. Some familiar names are friends, others acquaintances, others BNFs, concoms, fellow writers, editors, artists I knew only by reputation (or, perhaps, from CompuServe or GEnie–the Web was still a few years away). If I could put a 🌹 before everyone who’s passed away, the result would be distressing. Among the rest, I’m not well positioned to know who’s gafiated (as we largely did when our kids came along) and who’s still around.

In any event, I thought some of you might also have passing interest in this little fragment of fannish history.